


Break It To Me Gently

by carrietastic



Category: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (TV)
Genre: BailBuddies, F/M, Late Night Wonderings, Some Cursing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-01-25
Packaged: 2019-10-07 00:04:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17355173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carrietastic/pseuds/carrietastic
Summary: After a rough gig, Lenny needs his Midge in Shining Floral.





	1. In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning

As Lenny recovered from a seemingly normal gig with an abnormally unresponsive crowd, he felt a sort of unusual emptiness. Not the normal level of empty where he questioned his every action during the past five years of his life. No, this was something different. Something was missing. He was preemptively mourning for a part of him that was simply out of place. 

 

“I missed your set, didn’t I?” He heard, snatching him out of his pathetic reverie. 

“You didn’t miss much, I can assure you.”

“What, are you a telling me that old Frankie in the corner isn’t good enough an audience for you?” Midge said with a smile as she sat next to him in front of the bar. She was wearing a blue coat and her signature pearls. 

Lenny laughed out loud; something that he rarely did anymore. His entire body relaxed at Midge’s simple joke, or maybe just her presence. 

 

“I leave for tour in two days,” Midge plainly put, holding up two fingers. “Two days until my life completely changes. Two. More. Days.”

“So when do you start your tour?” He asked, feigning confusion. 

Midge chuckled. 

The truth was that she had completely forgotten about the gig Lenny had invited her to. She had been busy running around Manhattan like a chicken with its head cut off, searching for miscellaneous items for her tour, like a warm-toned coral lipstick and yellow velvet gloves. The only word to describe Midge Maisel was scatterbrained, a feeling she rarely experienced. She was sick of hearing the same question over and over until her ears bled:

“Are you ready?”

She answered Lenny’s question like she always had, with nonchalance that would make even her mother blush: “Of course I am.”

 

Lenny raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

“I mean, I still have some odds and ends to pick up, but for the most part,” she took a deep breath before raising her voice an octave “yes, I am.”

“Okay.” He flatly said. 

“Okay? Lenny are  _ you _ okay?” She asked, putting her hand over his. “I want this,” she assured him. “More than maybe anything.”

“Right now, you do  but what about in a month or two when people aren’t cheering at the right lines and nothing seems right? What about your kids?”

“I can do this. What are you saying?” She nearly-pleaded, her pretty face twisted with hurt.

 

At this point Lenny didn’t know the answer himself. Why are the words rolling out of him like the cheap whiskey from his bottle and as fast as the beating of his heart? These words weren’t a mistake; there were no mistakes with Midge. Maybe it was the liquor, or the thick fog between him and Midge, but he wanted to go home. The trouble was, he didn’t know where home was. 

He looked down at their hands, clasped together in a pilgrim’s kiss. How could they both be helping and hurting each other in simultaneous synchrony? He was hung up is a state of complete lucidity and utter lack of control, trapped between two extremes, both of them new. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talking things out.

“What are you saying?” Midge said, genuinely confused as to Lenny’s intentions. 

“I don’t know,” he replied, stretching out the first syllable like he was still trying to figure it out himself. 

 

She put her head on his shoulder, and it felt as natural as breathing. They sat in silence for a few minutes, hoping to God that nobody would intrude their quiet moment together. 

 

“I’m so scared.” A huge weight felt lifted from her shoulders. “I don’t… I don’t know what to do. I want to go so badly, but my heart is racing like a horse and…” 

Her thoughts was running at a mile a minute and she was struggling to keep up. She just wanted someone to hold her and tell her that everything will be alright. And someone did. Lenny put his arm around her, like they were two teens at a drug counter waiting for some ice cream. God, she could go for some ice cream right about now. 

 

“You had a point earlier. Lenny, I don’t know about my kids. How do you explain that to a kid like Ethan? ‘Your comedian mother left you and your infant sister for a six-month vacation in Europe. Now eat your potatoes’ isn’t good enough. I mean, will they even realize I’m gone? Maybe they’re just too young to understand things like this. What if—oh my god— what if they forget me?”

Lenny laughed. “Your kids won’t forget you. You’re impossible to erase from memory.”

She smiled and burrowed herself further into the crook of his neck. He smelled like weed and cheap cologne; the kind of smell her mother would hate. Midge relished in the aroma. 

 

“Here’s the kicker: I missed Ethel’s first word. ‘Mama,’ she said from the kitchen. Nothing, I replied. It probably was a cry for help, but I surely never heard it. She’ll probably hold this against me, talk about it with her shrink.”

 

He sipped his whiskey. “I have a daughter, you know.”

She lifted her head. “No, I didn’t know that.”

“Kitty Bruce. Three years old and as bright as a Bendel’s display.”

 

There was another silence. Midge considered the multitude of things she could say next. So she went for the obvious. 

 

“Are you in touch?”

“Yeah, of course. When I’m in town, she’s the first person I want to see.”

“That’s good.” She smiled. There was a part of her, the cynic, who was relieved. 

“I’ve done a lot of shitty things, Midge. Loads. Kitty is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I wouldn’t give her up for anything in the world. The only thing keeping me from her is this godforsaken profession and my ex-wife.”

She didn’t say anything, not because she was shocked, but because she couldn’t find the perfect way to describe her emotions. So she showed him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hate to leave you hanging, but it had to be done!  
> Thank you Kaarin for the writing sesssions, you are a godsend.  
> Kudos and comments appreciated. Love ya!  
> One last thing, I really wanted to mention Kitty in this! She is such a big part of the Lenny Bruce puzzle, even today!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta’d by Kaarin. Love ya!

He was surprised at first. Anybody would be, if Midge-fucking-Maisel kissed you out of basically nowhere. Of course, not that Lenny was complaining. 

Midge was electric, but he expected nothing less, if her shows were any indicator of her kissing prowess. Shit, he sounded slimy. What else could he say? Midge Maisel knew what she was doing. God, he was making it worse. 

She put her hands around his neck and deepened the kiss further. He turned towards her and slipped his arms around her minuscule waist. He was in sheer bliss, wrapped up with the girl of his dreams. 

 

They soon, much to Lenny’s dismay, broke apart, and Lenny was left with the stifling reality of what had just transpired. 

 

Before he could bring it up, she had beat him to the punch:

“I’m hoping that nobody saw what we just did.” She smiled at him as she pulled out a compact mirror from her petite purse. 

“Well, it sure lasted a while.”

“Lenny, you might want to…” Midge said, motioning to her mouth. He grabbed the mirror out of her pretty, manicured hand. 

“Why didn’t you tell me that?” He asked, as he wiped away the large red smear from his mouth. Of course Midge was wearing the most staining shade of the most staining lipstick in existence. God, Honey never wore shit like this. 

“I had other things on my mind! Like dinner… Lenny, I’m starving.”

He smiled. Now he needn’t ask her himself. 

 

“Take this outside?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! This was a romp to write, and I hope you enjoyed! Please let me know if you liked it, and what else you would like to see from me. Thanks again!

**Author's Note:**

> Beta’d by the lovely Kaarin! Thanks for your help!!  
> Kudos and constructive critique welcome! Let me know if you enjoyed. I wrote a second chapter, so tell me if that’s something you would like to see!


End file.
